Okay, I'll be honest. This isn't my best chapter by any stretch. I've not had the time to get it exactly where I want it, with my exams coming up, coursework due in, my dad being out of the country for increasing lengths of time on buisness, my mum's back seriously playing up and my brother being a complete and utter turnip. Trust me, you don't even want to know what he's done this time. Anyway, obviously there's the usual grovelling to put in here somewhere that you'll no doubt not read about how sorry I am for not updating sooner. I am sorry. Honest. This is a fairly long chapter though, maybe that'll make up for it?

'You know that feeling you get, when you're in a high place and you get the urge to jump?

I don't have it.'

Captain Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Lily dressed lazily, pulling her hair into a pony tail and slipping some fluffy socks on her feet to keep them warm from the cold stone floors. She felt rested after her brooding session the night before, and was fairly confident that when James had promised nothing would come out of that kiss, that he had meant it. That didn't mean, of course, that Lily could stop herself from being effected by him; blushing when he looked at her or stuttering or some other embarrassing give-away.

She made herself a cup of tea, and poured one out for James, setting it on the side with a heating charm on it. She finished off the last of the pumpkin pasties for breakfast, since the charm (as she'd discovered the night before) was wearing thin and they soon would be inedible.

A post owl, tapping at the window with her subscription to the Daily Prophet as well as a letter for her made her jump, scalding her hand with tea. She let the owl in and took the paper and letter off it, dropping the paper face-down and opening the letter. It had a Daily Prophet seal on it which she broke, unfurling the thin parchment

Dear Miss Evans and Mr Potter,

Thank you for allowing me to cover the ball. It was most informing and far more interesting than I thought it would be. In light of this, I decided I wouldn't charge for any photographs Hogwart's would like a copy of, within reason.

Yours Sincerely,

Parsley Louthy, Special Reporter

The Daily Prophet

Lily gave a little 'humph' of surprise, rocking back in her chair as her eyebrows rose. How unexpected. Why would he do that? He'd seemed nice enough, so maybe it was just sincere.

She grabbed the newspaper and turned it over, face draining as she took in the front page.

Ooh no. This wasn't happening to her. This was a bad dream. A prank. She was losing her mind. Whatever the reason, that could not be the front page of the Prophet. No, no, no, no, no! Wasn't there a god somewhere? Maybe there was and he just didn't care for her. Quite possible, of course.

Tucking the newspaper under her arm and taking the two mugs of tea – one for her and one for James – she made her way cautiously into his room. It was dark, and he was scrunched up, completely under the duvet like the Kids From Number Six's gerbils used to curl up under shredded loo-roll.

She felt like crying. He was under there, with no idea his life had been ruined. Had she had a free hand, she would have twiddled her hair.

Eventually finding a flat surface in James's messy room to put the tea down on, Lily paused before setting a cautious hand on the lump of bed-covers (snoring lightly) and shook it.

"James? James, wake up! It's important!"

No response

"James, the world's ten minutes away from being blown up!"

Still nothing

"Your merry bunch of idiots have ratted you out to McGonagall!"

A faint groan. Although that could have been a particularly loud snore

"James, I'm doing a pole dance around the poster of your four-poster bed, completely naked!"

"WHAT?"

"Oh thank Merlin you're awake." Lily gasped out, throwing the newspaper in his lap as he blearily rubbed his eyes

"Oh shit."

Nothing else really needed saying.

Cautiously Lily edged onto his bed, keeping a healthy distance between their bodies, but her curiosity had the better of her. She'd not read the article, only seen the photo.

SCANDAL AT HOGWART'S YULE BALL!

Last night I had the honour of attending the highly-anticipated Hogwart's Yule Ball, organised by the Head students, Lola Evans (muggleborn) and the Potter scion, James Charlus Potter. I had the opportunity to chat with the pair before the ball, and it revealed some worrying facts.

First of all; Lola Evans and James Potter can communicate without speaking aloud. No, we're not talking the kind of thing you'd expect from two friends – such as being able to guess when your friend is upset, or when your friend wants to talk about something – we're talking full-blown conversations without words. There is only one way to achieve this.

Yes, you're thinking right.

Magical Soul Bond. Not something Charlus and Dorea Potter will be thrilled to hear about, especially considering the Pureblood gossip of the moment; Charlus and Dorea Potter were scheduled to announce James's engagement with a French pureblood witch, name unknown, at their New Year's Ball. In the 1243 Soul Bond Legislation, this engagement will now be null and void if there really is a soul bond between the two Head's.

Second, as you can see from the photo of the pair dancing above, a soul bond does not see an impossibility. The pair swirled around the dance floor, wow-ing the audience with their fluid routine that leaves me wondering; when did they have the time to practice their routine enough to get it to that standard? On their own admission, the pair have been extremely busy with school work, Head duties and teaching their fellow peers to dance for the Yule Ball.

Then there is the curious background to their... relationship. While the pair claim to have 'worked out their differences', readers should be aware that this change was sudden and unexpected. Sudden and unexpected enough to possibly hint towards a love potion. The only love potion strong enough to cause a Soul Bond would be Amortentia.

Coincidence, then, that Lola Evans is (to quote Professor Horace Slughorn) 'The best potioneer to have passed through Hogwart's halls.'?

We think not.

This reporter is proposing an enforced Ministry test to see if this truly is a Soul Bond, and to test if either have been subjected to Amortentia. At least this way, any foul play would be detected, and hopefully the honour of the young Potter scion would be restored.

Read more on the Potter family on page 2, more on the happenings of the happenings of the Yule Ball on page 5, more on the effects, inventors and uses of Amortentia on page 7 and more on Lola Evans on page 14

"They got your name wrong!" James exclaimed, sounding horrified. Lily almost laughed at his naivety.

"James, that's the least of our worries. They've accused me of dosing you with an illegal love potion, said our link is a Soul Bond and made it sound like you and I are having some sort of illicit... illicit... illicit tryst! The whole plan of the Potter ball, never mind the fact that we weren't going to go through with it has now been completely ruined and..."

James cut in "... Merlin if someone finds out my dad taught me an auror spell, it'll lose my dad his job, and people will be bandying around things like 'Azkaban' and 'Wizenmagot Trial'. They're very secretive about their spells, thanks to You-Know-Who. Oh Merlin what are we going to do?"

Lily dropped her head into her hands. She didn't know. She just didn't know.

About half an hour later, the remaining Marauders were banging on the portrait hole, grumbling about Lily changing the password without telling them. Watching them traipse their muddy quidditch boots and robes through her beautifully clean tower, Lily knew exactly why she'd done it. The four boys had scurried into the study, throwing robes and boots haphazardly off on their way, slamming the door shut. The words

'Marauder Meeting in Progress – DO NOT ENTER'

Appeared on the door in fiery letters. Scowling at being left out, Lily snatched up their robes and shot them all with high powered cleaning charms. She hung them on the hooks by the entrance, their cleaned boots lined up underneath. She tried listening in at the door, but it seemed as though the boys knew a healthy number of silencing charms.

Mind you, perhaps it wasn't a silencing charm. Lily could just hear a buzzing noise, like listening to the overall chatter in a train station. And, damn it, she couldn't find a counter spell for the life of her!

Next she tried tiptoeing across the link she shared with James, certain that if he noticed her in his mind he would boot her out. She wasn't exactly subtle, though, and James spotted her easily. He didn't seem to mind, much to her surprise, and allowed her to 'sit in' on the Marauder's planning session, giving her the sneaking feeling that their cloak-and-daggers charade was more of a strange male thing than an actual functionality.

"... damage control." Sirius was saying "Slytherin's will be worst, but they're also easiest to prank. Hufflepuff's could go either way; they'll either gang together for Lily, or against Lily, so we'll just have to push them towards for Lily. Ravenclaw's are a lost cause; they'll believe hard facts, and if this newspaper comes across as hard facts then they'll be sold. They'll undoubtedly be pushing for those tests."

"How can you two speak without... y'know... speaking?" Peter asked curiously

Lily was struck by a wave of embarrassment from James as he fumbled for an answer in front of his friends

"Er... erm... uh... we can speak because... I mean, no, we can't speak! Er... y'know, in our heads. It's not like speaking actually. I mean, er..."

Lily gave a snicker in his head, which had a strangely tickling sensation, causing James to shake his head like a wet dog

"What're you doing, Prongs?" Remus asked carefully "You look like you've got a niffler in your ears."

James gave a wry chuckle "Nope, that's just Lily laughing at me for making such a mess of that answer about how we can speak inside our heads."

Silence reigned over the Marauder's meeting, and Lily held her breath, wondering what on earth James's best friends would make of that admission.

"So... so you can talk to Lily without opening your mouth?" Peter asked slowly

Sirius snorted "Stuff that, James has just broken one of the Rules of Being a Marauder – letting another person privy to a Marauder Meeting! And a girl, Evans no less!"

"What's it like, talking to someone in your head?" Remus asked, ignoring Sirius

James shrugged and asked Lily through their link how she'd describe it.

It's like talking to another part of yourself; one that's better and worse than you at different things. You can feel emotions and understand things left unsaid; intentions and insinuations from the other person are as clear as actual words. Images and such can be shared as easily as words. Initially you feel confused, because you can feel the other person's emotions and they don't fit with how you feel. Eventually, you learn to block certain things so they remain private, and then the other person becomes a more physical thing inside your mind. You can play hide-and-seek with them, for example.

James dutifully repeated what Lily had said to the Marauders, grinning at their astonished faces "No, that wasn't me, by the way. That was Lily, word for word."

Sirius let out a growl "She's still listening in on our private conversation!"

James laughed "Padfoot, if I block her out she'll just find some other way to listen in. Trust me, this is the least painful way."

The three other marauders laughed a little uncomfortably

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Remus asked "This seems like a pretty big thing, y'know? Aren't we important enough to have been informed?"

James winced "Of course you guys are important – you're my brothers. But... well, Lily didn't want anyone to know."

Lily let out a little shrill of indignation in his mind, and he barely refrained a wince

'Me? You're the one who didn't want to tell anyone you'd used an illegal Auror spell!'

"So Evan's more important than us now, huh?" Sirius asked, scowling "What, you in love with her or something?"

Lily scrambled to get out of his mind, pulling back into her own with a deep gulp of air. She certainly didn't want to know the answer to that. If he said yes, then their friendship would be completely awkward because Lily didn't even know what that kind of love was, never mind about feeling it for James. And if he said no... Lily sternly refused to acknowledge the fact that she would be... strangely disappointed.

Lily hid the entire day in the tower, knowing that the Hogwart's Express would be taking most of the students home that evening after they had stayed for the Ball. She couldn't bring herself to face the likely scowls and glares from the students, nor the disappointed look from Slughorn she would undoubtedly receive. Instead she spent the day completing her essays and writing up some revision notes for her transfiguration NEWT.

The marauders had gone off in a pack to, Lily assumed, prank some poor, unsuspecting Slytherin. Likely Seve... Snape. Lily couldn't quite find it in her to hate them for it. It was part of their natures, after all, and the sudden spikes of excitement and adrenalin that she felt all day told her James was loving every minute of it.

She couldn't face going down to the Great Hall, so instead she just drank copious amounts of tea and ignored her grumbling stomach. She did some more work, and owled the Weird Sisters their payment. James tumbled through the portrait hole just as Lily was designing the posters for the photographs, were anyone to want to buy some.

"Hey." Lily greeted quietly, suddenly finding herself flushed at the sight of him with his hair all over the place and a bright sparkle in his eye that spoke of the fun he'd had pranking with his best friends. And that lop-sided grin certainly wasn't to be sneered at either.

"Hey Lils." He returned, kicking his shoes off and shrugging his robe into a pile by the fireplace (as if he didn't know where the coat hooks were), settling himself on his favourite armchair, legs sprawled over the arms of it and head lolling back. He was just James, just her... dare she say it? Just her best friend again, and the blush subsided.

"Had fun?" Lily asked absently

James's eyes widened a little and he pulled himself upright, looking at her strangely

"What?" Lily asked, self-consciously

Then James laughed, and Lily felt the heat rise to her cheeks again. She'd have to put a concealing charm on them if this... strange blushing carried on, damn it!

"I think I've managed to corrupt you, Lils." He told her with a grin

Lily scowled at him, although the effect was ruined somewhat by her eyes, which were dancing with contained laughter. That, and the link which Lily felt certain he would be able to feel her amusement through.

James laughed quietly, deep in his chest, and Lily smiled at the sound. He sounded so content. Lily found herself settling on the rug in front of the fire, resting her back on the chair James was sprawled on. Absently, her hand went to braid her hair, her eyes sliding shut. Both were happy to just listen to the fire chatter in the hearth, although they knew they needed to talk about the fiasco that their link was about to become.

'What are we going to do?' Lily asked eventually

'I... I don't know, Lils.' James replied 'The only way to get through this without them finding out we used an auror spell, and losing my dad his job, is to make it seem like a Soul Bond.'

'But then they'll think I dosed you with Amortentia.'

'Nah, they won't. They have a test for Amortentia, which the healer's do. You just drink a potion, wait half an hour, and then if you glow pink, you've been given Amortentia. If you don't glow, then we're all good.'

Lily couldn't hide the huge sense of relief that comment brought her

'But, if they think we do have a Soul Bond, and there wasn't any Amortentia involved... then we'd be legally required to get married. You do know that, right?' James put in quietly

No. Lily didn't know that. 'Damn it! Does God hate us or something?'

'God?' James was amused 'You mean Merlin, right?'

Lilysnorted 'Muggle thing.'

'Oh. Hey, maybe there's a muggle way out of this!

'Right. James, I know you don't know much about muggles, but believe me they won't have a way out of this. We're between a rock and a hard place. We tell the truth and your father loses his job, and we face a serious criminal charge. We lie and say I gave you Amortentia, and maybe even give you some to rig the test, then I'm facing a life-long holiday to Azkaban. We lie and say it's a real Soul Bond, and we have to get married. Bloody hell!'

It was quiet for a moment, and then James asked quietly 'Would that really be such an awful thing? I mean... we could just... keep it as a business arrangement. Like... well, don't tell Sirius this, but Sirius, Remus and Peter are my brothers, but I think you might be my best friend. And surely best friends could put up with pretending to be married? It's better than going to Azkaban, right?

Lily wasn't particularly paying much attention to what he'd just said, because he'd just told her she was his best friend. Yes, the Marauders were his 'brothers', as he called them, but she, his best friend!

'Really?'

'Er... really what?'

'I'm your best friend? Are you... are you being honest?'

James laughed out loud "Why is it so hard to believe? You're with me every minute of the day, what with being in my head. Sure, most of the time you stay quiet and out of the way, and we don't share thoughts or whatever, but there's no denying that I'd always know if you were in trouble. Look, I know friends is a bit of a sore topic for you what with Sniv-...Snape, but not everyone's going to take something as precious as your friendship and throw it back in your face, you know."

Lily buried her face in her knees, pulling them up and hugging them tightly as James words hit exactly what she'd been trying to avoid. Her voice was thick and her eyes stung as she replied

"But... oh damn it, James! Don't you see? My sister, she was my best friend, and now she hates me. Sev was my best friend, and now he hates me. My..." And now she was crying in earnest "My parents were my best friends, and now they're dead!"

James slipped off the armchair to sit next to her on the floor, gently pulling Lily's hand away from her hair with a smile and a "You'll pull your hair out."

He bundled Lily up onto his lap, so small now and light and nothing like the softness and curves of the girl who'd initially taken his eye.

It was awkward, Lily found, but comforting. There was something innocent and good about the way James's hands snagged in her hair as he smoothed down the curls and knots she'd created in her stress. Curled up on James's lap, there by the fire, her face puffy and nose running and heart aching, made her feel as safe as she had done sat in the corner of her father's office, listening as he chuckled every now and again over something in the paper, or perhaps a letter a friend had sent.

Of course, as with just about every good thing in her life, Lily mused, it was bound to end shortly.

James laughed, the sound reverberating through Lily as she glanced up at him with a light scowl

"You're pretty cute when you get all angsty, you know." He told her "Did you think I wouldn't know if you brooded silently? You forget I'm in your head."

Lily tensed up. This was getting dangerously close to uncomfortable territory. Her face heated up and her stomach gave a traitorous little jump. Her head knew she didn't want James to think she was 'pretty cute'... but somehow the rest of her disagreed.

James smiled down at her almost sadly, as if knowing exactly the thoughts going through her head. Lily hoped he didn't. She would know if he was snooping through the link, right?

James chuckled again "No, Lily, I'm not invading your privacy."

She scowled harder. So he was, and now he was claiming he wasn't!

James laughed "Aw come on Lils! I know you too well for you to try and hide such obvious things from me! Besides, you Muppet, you'd know if I was being nosey. You'd feel it, remember?"

Lily grumbled and got out of his lap, stretching a little and ambling into the kitchen. She might open a window; the tower was getting pretty stuffy. She heard James sigh and copy her movements. Maybe, she hoped, he might hang his own robes up instead of her having to do it for him. Then again, Lily mused as she heard the door to the study swing open, then the window in there be thrown open, and then the sound of an owl hopping on the window ledge, maybe not.

"Hey, Lily! Come and read this!" James called, and Lily gave a little grumble, doing as he asked and hurrying into the study

"What is it?" She asked as she took the letter, gently smoothing out the thick, creamy parchment

"Read it." James said simply

Darling James,

Your father and I are somewhat worried, poppet. Are you alright? After the Prophet's delightful little article, we've had quite a bit of damage control to do, sweetheart. It doesn't look like there's much we can do about it, unfortunately. We're a little too well liked in the public's eyes to let this slide.

We need to take you to St. Mungo's and have you tested for any potions or spells. Your father has spoken to his good friend, Horace Slughorn, your potions teacher, and Horace grudgingly allowed that this Miss Evans has more than the ability to brew Amortentia. However, he had nothing but the best to speak of this girl, although he had previously agreed to try and stop her becoming too attached to you. Your father and I felt it was for the best, you understand pumpkin, that you didn't become too close to this girl when your engagement had just been finalized. We only asked him with your best interests at heart.

We would like to meet this Miss Evans, your father and I. If there truly has been no foul play and this really is a Soul Bond, then we shall have to try and make amends with the Delacours. Hopefully, being that Lady Delacour is a veela, she will understand that sometimes matters of the heart play foul with matters of the mind. Of course, this could go both ways; veela's have impressive tempers.

But really, sunshine, what were you thinking? Allowing a reporter to see so clearly that you can converse with this Miss Evans without speaking aloud? Do you have any idea how much trouble you have created for us and yourself? You had better hope nothing untoward has gone on, else this Miss Evans shall find herself entirely unable to ever have a good reputation again. Honestly, darling, please tell me you haven't thrown everything your father and I have ever done for you away.

I'm sure you won't have. I think I should rather this Miss Evans has done something illegal to earn your affections than this be an honest Bond. You wouldn't do that to Charlus and I unless it was out of your control.

We've spoken to Albus, and arranged a visit this evening. We have an appointment at St. Mungo's, and we'll know for certain if you've been dosed with anything by tonight. That way, what with it being only three days to Christmas, hopefully it'll all be over by the 25th, and you can take a Portkey home, and we'll spend Christmas as a family, as we always do. Without the shadow of all this hanging over us.

James, I know this girl is a friend; you write about her in equal parts to Sirius, Remus and Peter, and for that I know it will hurt if she truly has used you in such an awful way. We've bought you a few extra Christmas presents to make up for it!

All my love

Mother

Xxx

"Huh." Lily said, for lack of anything else "At least you'll get extra Christmas presents out of the deal?"

James was frantic, and scowled at her weak attempt at humour "Lily, you've not grasped the importance of this! We have about four hours before my parents get here, and we need a fool-proof plan by then!"

Lily let out an insane little giggle "I know." She gasped out, eyes sparkling "It's quite an invigorating feeling, isn't it?"

James shook his head and laughed along with her "No matter how long I spend in your head, Lils, I doubt I'll ever fully understand you."

Lily was still feeling somewhat giddy (read: hysterical) over the revelation that she had a few short hours before everything went up in smoke. "I think you should gather your merry band of idiots and try and come up with some sort of plan... but don't tell them what's actually happened. It's a well known fact that you're all really close, and if we do get found out they might just think to check if your friends knew and didn't do anything about it. They would be charged with harbouring a criminal or something similar." She told him, grabbing her outer robes off the hook and shrugging them on "I'll head to the library and look up Amortentia, Soul Bonds, and see if I can find anything about the Auror Bond we created. Surely your dad doesn't have someone else in his head the entire time?"

James shook his head sadly "The block for the Auror Bond is Occulmency, and trust me when I say that takes years to learn not hours."

Lily frowned heavily for a moment, but then nodded resignedly "Alright. Well I'll not bother with searching for the Auror spell then. There probably wouldn't have been anything of use on it anyway, seeing how it's a ministry controlled spell and we're in the middle of a war."

Lily was about to go on, but James interrupted

"Lily, we need to make a decision. We honest to Merlin don't have enough time for you to do your usual fretting and dallying. Don't take this the wrong way, Lils, but I need an answer."

Lily almost felt sick with the tense anxious, guilty and full out terrified feelings James was throwing at her through the link.

"Look, this is all my fault." James finally bit out "You didn't have any idea about the consequences when you asked me about the spell, and I was too caught up in the moment, too childish to bother stopping you and telling you. I just... I'd wanted to be close to you for so long, and I know now that it was foolish and spoilt of me to want something just because I didn't have it; I only wanted you then because you wouldn't have me. And then, there you were, offering what I knew would eventually be a really close friendship on a plate. Offering to let me see in your head, to understand the girl I'd pined after for years."

Lily sat down shakily on a nearby armchair

"And instead, understanding how you saw me, knowing how you felt when I torment the Slytherins or when I tease you or when I'm rude... somehow I found myself taking your side, and instead of understanding you, I found myself not understanding me! And when I did finally get why you drink your tea without milk, and why you dance, and why your grades are so important... hell, why you always stand up for Snape, even when he called you a... called you a... called you a you-know-what, I found you were nothing like the girl I'd idolized for years. You weren't cold and aloof because you were too intelligent to want to play with the mere mortals; you were shy and afraid of your trust being broken. You weren't playing hard to get, you were embarrassed that I would put you under pressure in a public environment, and you honestly believed I was just teasing you. You weren't sucking up to Slughorn so he'd give you better marks; you genuinely enjoy his company and honestly find his knowledge inspiring.

"I guess what I'm trying to say, Lils, is that this whole Bond thing is my fault, you know? And in doing it, I've learnt so much about myself. Now I know the real you... you're everything I thought I didn't like in a person. You're shy and brooding and sharp and quick to temper. You're a force to be reckoned with when you think someone's been wronged. You're fiercely independent and awfully set in your ways. You're patient and a brilliant teacher. You let me in one minute, and shut me out another. You're stronger than I ever could hope to be. Hell, if my parents died? I'd probably drop out of Hogwarts and fail everything and yet you've kept your grades up, and you've taught half the school to dance in the process! I feel like I've ruined everything you could be by stupidly letting you go through with the whole auror spell that's screwed everything up..."

He gave a bark of laughter then, but it sounded dark and hollow in the suddenly silent tower. Lily watched him with wide eyes and slightly slack jaw

His hands shot through his hair as they always did when he was nervous "Huh. I was only going to say a few words about that, y'know. Well, too late now I guess. Anyway... I was going on about making a decision, wasn't I? Well... you need to decide which the better option is; go to Azkaban..."

He stopped then, to take a deep breath before he continued.

"Or marry me."

And then, without even glancing at her, he swept past and out of the portrait guarding their tower. Lily sat there, a blank look on her face, and wondered how she'd ever missed how much of a... how much of a softie James Potter was. And for someone who claimed to know her really well, he sure was being a bit daft.

With an unsteady sigh, Lily discarded her original plans of hitting the library. Instead she stood and made her way into her room, pulling her trunk from under her bed and throwing the heavy lid open, pulling away the hidden compartment in the base of it after pushing aside the junk that had somehow found its way into her trunk – and, Merlin, were they James's prank plans that she'd found of the wall of the study that time when she'd first tidied it? The one's that she'd shouted at him for, and insisted he burnt them? They were! Well, she'd be having words with him about that, for sure!

Finally her fingers slipped under the false bottom, feeling around for a moment until they snagged the letter, the last letter her father ever sent her.

Even as she unfolded it, her lips trembled with the emotions. Her eyes scanned down it, looking for some kind of advice. Somehow, just when she needed them, there wasn't a useful little flashback of her parents. Did that mean she was forgetting them? Did that mean... that they wouldn't be there for her anymore?

...make sure you let go once in a while...find a nice boy I probably wouldn't approve of to marry...

...my baby girl...

What would they have said? Why couldn't she picture them? Would her mother have been pleased that she might marry someone with a social standing like James's, or would she be disappointed with the lack of romance? Would her father have been glad she had a best friend in James, or would he have hated him for putting her in this situation?

Would they hate her for forgetting them?

Was she forgetting them?

She didn't know how long she sat there, staring at her father's script, but her thoughts were eventually interrupted by the portrait opening and then shutting again, footsteps, and then her bedroom door swinging open to admit Peter Pettigrew. He didn't mention that she was just sat on the floor, scratty paper in hand.

"Hey." He said, sitting down next to her. His straw-coloured hair looked a bit greasy, like he'd run sweaty hands through it, or perhaps not had time to wash it. He had a smudge of dirt on his forehead, like he'd been running through a low tunnel. His breathing was heavy as if he'd just sprinted further than his body was comfortable with.

"Hey." She returned weakly, silently offering the letter to Peter. He wouldn't take it though, pushing it gently back to her

"No, Lily." He said "That's yours."

Lily nodded slowly. It was hers, yes.

"I've just been to Hogsmead." He announced after a moment, startling Lily, who wasn't sure she even wanted to know how on earth he'd snook off school grounds. "I've been to the second hand book store; James told me to grab anything that might help. I've found four books on Soul Bonds, but most importantly an old roll of parchment..."

He rummaged in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out the aforementioned item and handing it to Lily

It was written in curly script, although slightly uncertain as if it were a younger person, probably a teen, than an adult that had written it. From the way it was laid out, Lily assumed it must have been a school assignment that had somehow wound up in a second hand shop. The scribbled price tag on the top corner claimed it was only worth 'Two knuts'.

Tests for a Soul Bond:

Soul Bonds are tested for in three stages:

Stage 1 is conducted by a healer, who checks both participants over for any spells, enchantments, cursed items or potions which may have falsely caused a Soul Bond to be formed. If such foul play is found, the healer is legally obligated to do all in their power to remove, block or counteract it. Once the healer is successful, both will undergo severe pain lasting for on average about a day, although the time is dependent upon how long the pseudo bond has been in place. A Soul Bond created through some outside force is never as magically strong as a true Soul Bond. If no foul play is found, the testing progresses to Stage 2.

Stage 2 is to test the mental and emotional link the pair have. This is a simple test carried out in the ministry, in which the two individuals are put in separate rooms after being stripped of all magical objects including their wand, and shown a variety of objects. The other participant is then to try and say which object their bonded can see. If this is successful on all occasions, then both are given a potion which mildly effects the mood, such as a cheering potion or a drowsiness draught. Again, both are asked to identify the emotion felt by their bonded. If thoughts are able to be felt but not emotions, a Friendship or Sibling Bond is usually suspected. If thoughts cannot be understood but emotions can be, then one/both participants are tested and often found to be empaths.

The final stage, which is exclusive to Soul Bonds and therefore the conclusive test, is to test the individual's magical core strength apart, and then to test both at the same time, with skin-to-skin contact between the pair, such as holding hands. The overall total of the two individual's magical core apart, without touch, should be considerably lower than the score when the two are tested together, with skin-to-skin contact.

This is clearly a lengthy and difficult process that cannot be forged. Therefore I should not be rude or mean to Nicolas and Perenelle, or in any way insinuate that their bond is false. I understand that if I do so again, none of the professors will be held responsible for the damage Nicolas may do to me.

Lily let out a little giggle at the end comment from the clearly repentant student. Still, the information sunk in and she couldn't help but groan loudly

"What?" Peter asked, his voice irritatingly squeaky on Lily's unsteady nerves "Are you alright?"

Of course. Peter didn't have a clue they were forging it. "Yeah." Lily said "Just a bit terrified. I'm meeting his parents this evening, and they're taking him to St. Mungo's for the first stage of the test. I suppose they'll have to test me as well, to make it all watertight."

Peter patted her shoulder awkwardly, but Lily was glad for the show of support.

"Well, I ought to get these books to Sirius, James and Remus." Peter said, standing to his unimpressive height "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where they might be, would you? The map... erm, forget about that... I just can't remember where they are, you see."

Lily filed that comment away to ask James about later, instead fumbling a little with the link in her mind, trying to pinpoint where James was without outright asking him. He seemed unusually quiet, anyway.

"They're... in a room with lots of house-elves... it's behind a picture of a fruit bowl... he's not being very talkative at the moment. Do you think you can find them from that?"

Peter had an awed look on his face "Yeah, thanks Lily."

He scurried off, and Lily decided she should take a shower and tidy up a bit. No doubt James parents would want to see the tower where their son spent much of his time, and Lily would die of embarrassment if they saw it in any state less than perfect.

Half way through her shower Lily remembered she had eaten the last pumpkin pasty, and if James's parents wanted anything other than tea without milk, they'd be somewhat disappointed. She would have to send an owl to the kitchens, asking for a hamper to be sent up.

Half an hour before his parents were due to arrive, the four Marauders piled through the portrait hole and stopped dead at the sight that greeted them.

The place positively gleamed. None of them had ever seen a place so clean, and they were no strangers to the Hospital wing. Pictures adorned previously blank walls, pictures which James realised with a jolt Lily must have taken out of memories. That was a complex charm to do – you had to first know the spell to pull a memory from your mind in a silvery, spindly strand, and then you had to know the charm to freeze the memory into a picture, and then you had to know the spell to make the picture move. James could have done it, but certainly not in the short time it had taken Lily.

There were pictures of just about every happy point of the past few years. There was even one of them out in the snow after the ball. James's eyebrows rose as he gazed at the picture of the two of them laughing breathlessly and staring up at the falling snow. The little picture versions of themselves seemed to occasionally dance to an unheard song, before falling into giggles and losing their rhythm.

Lily bit her lip and cautiously rested a hand on James's shoulder, peering over him at the picture he was staring at

"That's my favourite." She admitted shyly, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers

'Really?' James asked, and Lily almost gasped in relief. When he'd stayed so resolutely silent when she'd been trying to find him earlier for Peter, she'd worried that he would never speak to her again.

'Really.' She returned, a little more boldly now she knew he wasn't going to brush her off

Suddenly James laughed out loud 'Brush you off? Lily, did you listen to a word I said earlier?'

Lily stopped for a moment, suddenly realising why he'd been so silent. Her mind wandered to the letter, now safe again in the bottom of her trunk

... make sure you let go once in a while...

"Yes." Lily said in a sudden gust of air "Yes. Yes of course I would choose... choose you, you... what did you call me earlier? Oh yeah... you Muppet."

James turned to stare at her, eyes wide and mouth a little parted, revealing the slight gap in his front teeth.

"But..." James prompted after a moment, "You look like there's a 'but'."

Lily nodded slowly "Well, not to your question... it's just that..."

She pulled the parchment out of her pocket and handed it over, pointing to the third step. His eyes went wide and he stared at her

"And you only just saw fit to tell me this now?" He asked, voice high and sounding slightly hysterical

"Er... what the hell are you two talking about?" Sirius finally butted in

"Lily agreed to marry me." James said simply, although the wide grin on his face and sudden mood change from terrified to elated spoke differently.

Sirius stared at his best friend for a moment, before his eyes rolled back in his head and a dull 'thunk' announced his arrival on the floor.

"Shit! Sirius, not the time!" Remus yelped, kneeling down next to his friend and shaking his shoulder. Peter was still staring wide eyed at James and Lily, James was back to staring at the parchment, which announced that they needed to be able to share magic, and Lily was suddenly feeling like she'd been cheated out of the romantic proposal from a handsome prince that she'd dreamed about for years.

There was a dignified knock on the portrait, which swung open without further ado, admitting a tall, black haired woman who Lily was certain looked more regal than the queen, and a man with brown hair as messy as James's. The pair surveyed the scene for a moment, the man's eyes dancing like James's did when he'd just achieved a particularly ambitious prank, and the woman regarding her with as searching a gaze as James did when she tried to hide something from him.

Remus stopped shaking Sirius, finally giving up and glaring helplessly at the fallen Marauder.

"You must be Lily Evans." The woman said

A little voice that sounded suspiciously like James (and in fact most probably was James) in the back of her head piped up

'You are under arrest.'

"It is a pleasure to meet you." The woman continued, looking a little put out at the slight smile on Lily's face

'Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.'

"This is my husband, Charlus Potter, and I am Dorea Potter."

'You have the right to an attorney, and if you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you.'

Lily couldn't help it. With one baleful glare in James's direction she cracked up laughing.

Great.

Lily hoped these people didn't put too much stock into first impressions. Something told her that might just be a fool's hope.

At some point, when I have more time, I'll polish this chapter up a bit. Hopefully it will suffice for the moment!

Please review!